Infecting the Muggles
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: Harry Potter gently looks after a sick cat on the wall beside the Dursleys' garden, not knowing that the result will be far-reaching and that Father Christmas will have to come for help. Set before Hogwarts, completely AU, partl. OOC, sick!Minerva, MM/AD


**Infecting the Muggles - by Healer Pomfrey**

Minerva slowly dragged herself to the Great Hall for breakfast, her muscles aching with every step. She absentmindedly greeted her colleagues as she took her seat at the Head table, hoping that everyone would leave her in peace and that her friends Albus and Poppy wouldn't show up for breakfast for one or the other reason. However, at least Albus was there. She idly accepted the mug with her favourite tea that Albus kindly held out for her and began to stare into space, her hands around the mug that felt soothingly warm.

She looked up startled when a silky, baritone voice penetrated her foggy mind. "Minerva, I'm going to make these insufferable twins serve detention for the remaining two weeks until the beginning of the holidays. They can help me re-organise my ingredients cupboard."

"Okay," Minerva replied wearily, causing her colleagues to throw her concerned looks.

The Scottish lioness accepting such a harsh punishment for two of her little lions? That had to be a first.

Albus gently laid his arm around her back and whispered, "Are you feeling all right, Minerva? You don't look good, and I believe you should go and let Poppy check on you."

"I'm fine," Minerva mumbled. '_Yes, I know that I've probably caught a bad cold or whatever it is, but it's Saturday and I need to check on little Harry_,' she mused. "I need to make my usual Saturday visit. If I don't feel better when I return, I'll go to see Poppy," she promised, realising that Albus was able to look behind her tough facade.

"Would you like to try a dose of Pepperup potion?" Severus offered gently, unobtrusively holding out a phial under the table.

"Thank you, Severus." Minerva gratefully slid the phial into her robe pocket for later use. There was no way she would allow the students the fun of watching steam coming out of her ears.

"Minerva, stay here and rest. Little Harry will be fine," Albus said softly and laid his cool hand on Minerva's.

"No Albus," Minerva let out a few coughs, "I'll go and watch for a while, and then I'll come back and rest. It's just a stupid cold, and I'm sure Severus' potion will help anyway." With that she left the Great Hall, glad that most of the students had already finished their breakfast and had gone to do whatever mischief they were planning to do on this cloudy December day. She took the Floo to the Three Broomsticks and apparated to a side street to Privet Drive in Little Whinging, where she transformed into her cat form and slowly made her way into the Dursleys' garden.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

Minerva made herself as comfortable as possible on the small wall next to the Dursleys' garage, from where she could observe the entrance door as well as the back door, knowing that Harry normally had to do chores in the garden. '_Maybe not today_,' she mused. '_It's cold and absolutely yucky today. It seems as if it was going to rain any minute, but it's probably only the fog that is so wet and cold_.'

However, she didn't have to wait long. After a few minutes, Vernon Dursley shoved Harry out of the backdoor. "Paint the fence boy and do it twice so that the colour won't come off by the rain."

"Yes Uncle Vernon," Harry replied and immediately set to work.

"We're going to London for the day," Petunia informed him curtly. "We'll be back in the evening." With that she locked all the doors and sat in the car.

'_And how is Harry supposed to get in afterwards?_' Minerva thought incredulously. '_Maybe he has a key, but I don't think so_.'

Harry diligently painted the fence in bright yellow and had just begun to repeat the process, when it began to rain. The small boy looked at the fence in shock, noticing that the rain washed off the yellow colour he had just applied. He sat next to Minerva on the wall and looked at her curiously. "There is no much use of painting the fence in the rain, is it? Why are you sitting here in the rain by the way? Do you like the rain?"

Minerva gave him a sympathetic look and lightly shook her head.

"May I pet you?" Harry asked softly and, seeing the cat slightly nod, gently petted her head and back. "You're shivering," he said worriedly. "Are you cold?" He thought for a moment, before he motioned for her to wait for a short while. He ran to the cupboard at the back of the garden.

Minerva could hear him use a hammer and wondered what the boy was doing when he returned with three pieces of wood, which he had connected, so that they made a small roof for her. "Here, now you won't get wet anymore," he said softly, placing the roof on the wall, so that she was safe from the rain.

Minerva gratefully licked Harry's hand, feeling very happy by the boy's kindness. '_It's a pity that I can't tell him who I am_,' she mused and laid her head on her front paws, feeling utterly miserable.

Finally, the rain stopped, and Harry once more turned to the fence. This time, he managed to paint it twice. Minerva watched his efforts for a while, before she drifted off into an exhausted slumber. When she woke up, she found herself scooped up in Harry's arms.

"You're here often, aren't you?" he asked softly, gently petting her with cool hands. "Are you living nearby, or don't you have a real home just like me?"

Minerva sneezed a few times, and Harry looked at her in concern. "Are you sick?" he enquired. "I'm so sorry, but I can't help you. The Dursleys have locked me out of the house, and they'd kill me if I brought you inside. Well, I could fetch you during the night when they're asleep, but I can't get you any medicine anyway. I don't get any either when I'm sick. Aunt Petunia always says a freak like me doesn't get anything. She says I should use my freakishness to heal me, but I don't know how that works." He gently petted the cat, cuddling her close. "Oh sorry, I'm rambling. It's just so easy to talk to you."

Minerva unconsciously leaned into the boy's soft, cold touch. '_I hope his relatives will return soon. I need to get back to Hogwarts_,' she thought, wanting nothing more than to curl up in her warm bed.

However, it was already past dinnertime when the Dursleys returned. Harry had been cuddling Minerva the whole time, speaking to her in a soft voice. "What am I going to do with you? Shall I try to smuggle you inside?" he asked in concern.

Minerva slightly shook her head and licked his hand.

=One day I'll tell you everything. You're a very good boy,= she meowed, knowing that Harry couldn't understand but would hopefully be able to pick up some positive emotions. When Harry entered the house, once again turning back to her, she jumped down from the wall and slowly walked out of the garden in order to show him that he didn't have to worry about her.

Minerva dragged herself back to Hogwarts with the intention to go straight to bed. However, by the time she had reached her private quarters, the Headmaster caught up with her and followed her into the living room, throwing her a concerned look. "Minerva, you look worse for the wear. I'm going to call Poppy."

"No Albus, I'm all right," Minerva replied weakly, noticing in annoyance that her voice threatened to fail. "I'm just tired and achy from sitting on a stone wall the whole day."

Dumbledore gently led Minerva to the sofa and motioned for her to lie down, before he carefully rested his own, cold hand on her forehead. "No Minerva," he said finally. "You're not only tired; you're ill and running a temperature. Stay put, and I'm going to call Poppy."

Minerva sighed and closed her eyes, feeling too bad to care what was going to happen, although she was torn between annoyance about her old friend's fussing and gratitude for his caring.

A few minutes later, her best friend stepped out of the fireplace. At her sight, Poppy immediately turned into Healer's mode and waved her wand over Minerva. Finally, she let out a long sigh as she slid her wand back into her robe pocket.

"Minnie, I'm sorry, but I need to take you with me to the hospital wing," she said carefully, apparently knowing from experience what to expect.

"No Poppy, don't you dare," Minerva objected, ending up in a coughing fit.

"Minerva, you have caught a bad case of the nasty wizard's flu that has been going around recently. You're running a high fever, and I'm sure it'll go up even more during the next few hours. I want to constantly monitor you, which is much easier in the hospital wing, because I have several students with the same ailment."

"Just give me a potion and I'll be all right," Minerva croaked, throwing her friend a pleading look from half-open glassy eyes.

"No Minerva, you won't, and you'll do as Poppy says. Headmaster's order," Dumbledore threw in firmly, causing Minerva to attempt – and fail miserably – a glare at her friend.

Twenty minutes later, Minerva found herself in one of the small teachers' rooms behind the hospital wing. During the following few days, she remained very ill. Delirious with a high fever she drifted in and out of sleep and was hardly aware of her surroundings. Whenever she woke up, either Poppy or the Headmaster were nearby, trying to make her more comfortable. Only after a whole week, Poppy grudgingly released her to her own quarters; however, she was not allowed to teach for the remaining week until the beginning of the holidays, and Poppy had firmly told her she expected her to rest and only leave her quarters to attend the meals in the Great Hall.

HP HEALER POMFREY HP

On Monday morning, the Headmaster kept Minerva behind after breakfast, holding out the Daily Prophet. Minerva curiously looked at the headlines that caused her to let out a loud gasp followed by a coughing fit.

'_Warning from the Muggle Authorities:'_  
'_Dangerous Flu spreads in Muggle town Little Whinging'  
'resistant to all known remedies'_

"Little Whinging? Flu?" Minerva gasped, and a memory of herself being cuddled by a small boy forced itself to the front of her mind. "Albus, Harry must have caught the wizard's flu from me. I must go and see if he's all right." She hurriedly stood up and quickly gripped the Headmaster's arm as a bout of dizziness made her sway.

"You won't go anywhere but back to bed, Minerva," the Headmaster said firmly, gently pulling her into his arms. "I've already prepared everything. Severus has brewed several batches of the flu potion for me, and I'll go and visit Little Whinging today. Arabella Figg has promised to help me. We'll call everyone, who is ill, out into the street through the _Sonorus_ charm. Arabella and I will give them the potion; maybe I'll explain about the wizard's flu if necessary, but since I don't want to obliviate the whole town, I'll probably just let the people decide if they want to take the potion."

"But Albus," Minerva asked, shocked, don't you have to teach my classes?"

"Your classes are cancelled for today, my dear. You're going to go back to bed. I'm sure I'll see Harry, and I'll keep an eye on him."

"Albus, the Dursleys won't bring Harry out for a potion. They never care for him. Please, Albus, you must go and check on him," Minerva said pleadingly, getting very upset.

"I promise that I'll check on him," Dumbledore promised and gently led Minerva out of the Great Hall. "Don't make yourself so upset, my dear. You'll only aggravate your condition."

"Albus, I want to watch the memory of you checking on Harry tonight," Minerva said firmly, letting out a few harsh coughs.

"Okay," Dumbledore replied and left through the entrance door.

Minerva remained in the entrance hall for a few minutes, pondering if she should follow the Headmaster. However, she was beginning to feel dizzy again and the sweat that she felt appear on her forehead reminded her that she was still running a temperature. '_I'll just go back to bed and hope that Albus will check on Harry. If not, I'll go and look after him tonight_,' she finally decided.

HP ALBUS' POV HP

Albus walked down to the Apparition border. Before he left, he waved his hand, transfiguring his baby blue robes into red robes, which, along with his long, white beard, made him look like Santa Clause. '_That'll do_,' he mused as he apparated away, straight to Arabella Figg's living room.

"Hello Arabella. Thank you for helping me in this case," Dumbledore said pleasantly.

"Oh my, Albus, don't you look like a wonderful Father Christmas?" Mrs. Figg greeted him, smiling.

"Oh well, more than Santa Clause, but," he paused pensively, scratching his left ear, "shall I make you one of my angels?"

Mrs. Figg agreed, and Albus transfigured the Squib's Muggle attire into white robes with gold edges, before they both left the house and began to address the people living in Privet Drive and the nearby streets.

The Muggles curiously dragged themselves out of their houses, and surprisingly many of them took the potion. Seeing that those, who dared trying the strange drink, began to feel better immediately, others wanted to try as well, and late in the afternoon, the whole town was on its way to recovery. Albus handed everyone another phial with the instruction to take the next dose in the morning.

The whole day, he had waited to meet Harry. However, the small boy didn't show up. Vernon, Petunia and Dudley Dursley came to receive their potion in the early afternoon; however, there was no sign of their nephew, and when Santa Clause enquired about the boy, Petunia quickly made him shut up by mumbling something about healing himself with freakishness.

Not wanting to make a scene in front of other Muggles, Albus kept quiet and let the Dursleys go. However, when the last Muggles had left, he spoke with Mrs. Figg about the matter and paid the Dursleys a visit.

It took a while, until Petunia opened the door. "I'm sorry for intruding," Albus apologized. "However, I must insist on checking on your nephew."

"I told you that he's fine," Petunia replied in apparent annoyance.

"May I see him please?" Albus insisted, quickly placing his foot inside, before Petunia could shut the door into his face.

"Oh well, do as you please. He's in the cupboard." Petunia pointed to the cupboard under the stairs, before she climbed the stairs and disappeared.

Shaking his head, Albus opened the door to the cupboard and carefully crawled inside. Instantly, he heard a quick, ragged breathing, and when he cast a Lumos spell and turned his eyes to the small mattress that was covering half of the cupboard, he saw a small boy that was curled up under a thin blanket. His cheeks were feverishly flushed, and dark rings were surrounding his eyes.

"Harry," Albus whispered and carefully laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, causing the child to flinch back badly. "It's all right, Harry. I won't hurt you. I'm a friend," Albus whispered, looking straight into the boy's half-open glassy green eyes.

"Father Christmas?" Harry whispered in disbelief.

"I'm only dressed as Father Christmas. I am Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the school you're going to attend when you'll be eleven," Albus explained quickly, knowing from the boy's bleary look that he was too ill to understand whatever explanation he could give him. "You're ill, aren't you?"

"I'm fine," Harry replied, clearly shocked that he hadn't been better able to hide his weakness.

"No Harry, I don't think so. Didn't your aunt give you anything for your illness?"

Harry merely stared at him. Quickly pondering what to do, Albus pulled one of the phials out of his robe pocket. "Here Harry, this is medicine." He gently helped the child to take his potion, causing the boy to visibly relax.

"Thank you so much. Medicine is fantastic," Harry said in surprise, throwing Albus a grateful look.

Albus sat on the edge of Harry's bed and asked softly, "Harry, please tell me, is your aunt not treating you well?"

"She hates me, because I'm a freak," Harry whispered, before his eyes widened in shock and he quickly corrected himself. "Ah, but it's fine. The Dursleys took me in and give me clothes and food and a roof over my head..."

Albus let out a long sigh. "I am sorry, Harry. I thought your aunt would be able to love you and raise you as her own. Harry, I'm going to take you with me to Hogwarts. Do you remember the grey cat you played with a week ago?"

"Yes," Harry replied with excitement.

"She is a teacher at my school and my best friend. She is a witch, just like you and I are wizards, and just like your parents were a witch and a wizard," Albus explained gently. "We knew your parents very well, especially my friend. She even knew you well when you were a baby. That's why she comes every week in her cat form in order to check on you.

Harry wearily put a hand to his forehead, glancing at the old man with the white beard in confusion. Reminding himself that the boy was too ill for such a conversation, Albus decided to act. "Harry, I suggest that we leave now. Do you have any belongings you want to take with you?"

Harry slightly shook his head, fiercely grabbing his small blanket with one hand. "Very well then; you must touch my ring and hold on to it. This is a Portkey, a magical transportation method, and it'll take us right into my quarters at Hogwarts." He gently pulled Harry into his arm and pressed the child's forefinger against his ring, before he uttered the incantation, and the small cupboard vanished from the sight.

HP MINERVA'S POV HP

Minerva was lying on the sofa in her living room in a very bad mood. During the second morning class, when the first year Gryffindor and Slytherin students were supposed to have Transfiguration that had been cancelled due to her illness and the Headmaster's absence, the Weasley twins had tried to prank their older brother Percy. Minerva didn't know exactly what the two mischief-makers had intended to do to their brother; however, they had ended up flooding the Gryffindor common room along with the lower bathrooms and dormitories. Someone had called her for help, and in spite of Poppy's strict orders to remain in bed, Minerva had spent the rest of the morning restoring the common room and the adjacent rooms to their usual state.

When Minerva returned to her quarters, she had been too exhausted to attend lunch, a fact that had caused Poppy to intrude her privacy and check on her. After several annoying questions, Minerva had finally admitted how she had spent the morning, causing Poppy to scold her vehemently and threaten to take her back to the hospital wing if she caught her out of her quarters again. As if the scolding wasn't enough, the Mediwitch had placed several spells on Minerva that would alert her if she did anything strenuous or her condition worsened even more.

'_Let's hope that at least Albus did the right thing today_,' she thought in annoyance as she looked at the connecting door to his quarters every now and then, trying to ignore the small voice at the back of her head that told her, '_What do you expect from him? Apart from that, it's your own fault. You were the one who made Harry sick_.'

These dark thoughts didn't help to lighten her mood, and by the time the connecting door finally opened, Minerva was ready to kill someone – until she noticed that Albus was carrying Harry in his arms.

"Harry," Minerva shouted in excitement and quickly stood up from the sofa, so that Albus could put Harry down.

After a glance into her flushed face, Albus decided, "No Minnie, I'll take him into your bedroom. You both need to rest. Please call Poppy." Albus gently placed Harry on his own side of Minerva's bed, carefully pulling the burgundy red covers up to his chin.

Only instants later, Minerva and Poppy entered the room, and seeing Albus chuckle even Harry smiled when the two witches began to bicker about going to bed right away or wanting to know what was wrong with Harry. Finally, Minerva relented and sat down next to Harry, causing Poppy to throw her a menacing glare, before she pulled her wand and gently explained to Harry that she was going to cast a diagnostic spell at him.

"Don't worry, sweetie; I'm not going to hurt you," she said in a soft voice, pointing at her wand. "This wand already helped when you were born."

Harry's frightened face turned into awe when Minerva transformed into her cat form and stretched out on the bed next to Harry.

"Hey Kitty," he said softly and began to gently pet the cat's head, causing her to purr contentedly.

The Healer used the opportunity of Harry being distracted to cast several diagnostic spells on the child, before she slid her wand back into her robe pocket and made Harry drink a few potions.

"Thank you so much," Harry said in absolute amazement, throwing Poppy a grateful look.

"You're welcome, sweetie," Poppy replied in a soft voice. "I'll come and give you more potions during the night. I suggest that you remain here with Minerva tonight. She is still a bit sick as well, and it's easier for me to look after both of you if you're here together."

"Harry, as soon as you're fully back to health, you'll get your own room here in our quarters, and Minerva and I are going to become your guardians. You'll never have to return to the Dursleys," Albus said softly, and his eyes were twinkling with joy.

'_Thank God_,' Minerva thought, nestling deeper into the child's gentle embrace, before her best friend's stern voice pulled her back to reality.

"Minnie, I don't mind you cuddling with Harry in your cat form, since you've both caught the same illness; however, I need you to transform into your human form so I can check on you and give you your potions."

Minerva automatically complied, noticing from the corner of her eyes that Harry was observing her in amusement, and his eyes were twinkling just like those of the man, who had been more than a friend to her for more than fifty years. '_Albus will make a good father_,' she mused as she watched the Headmaster gently adjust a wet towel to the boy's brow. '_I'm looking forward to having a small family_.'

**The End.**

_Something I wrote during a sleepless night due to being sick. Onehot out of a series posted earlier on Livejournal. _

_I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them._

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._


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